Darius, the 16-year-old Roma boy who was the victim of a brutal vigilante attack, lived in this camp, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, outside Paris.

Thomas SamsonAFP/Getty Images

Listen

Listening...

/

Originally published on June 19, 2014 5:12 pm

A vigilante attack against a Roma teenager has shocked France and put pressure on the French government to improve conditions for the ethnic minority. Human rights advocates say the rise of a xenophobic climate in the country may have contributed to the attack.

They have always faced harsh discrimination across the continent. They began coming in large numbers to Western Europe when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007.

Roma are part of the landscape in Paris today. Under the Eiffel Tower, there are always gangs of young Roma girls hitting the tourists up for money.

J.Z. — who won't give her full name because she is frightened of the police — is one of those girls. She and her friends surround me. They carry clipboards with petition-like papers on them, or little cards with notes, like "I am hungry, I want money," scribbled on them.

I begin to ask the girls what their lives are like. Soon, our conversation attracts a couple of police officers. They walk up, stop our interview, take the girls' cards and tear them up.

The girls say this treatment is common.

J.Z. says she doesn't steal. But Roma are often accused of stealing from tourists and Parisians across the city, especially in the subway.

Laurent Thebault runs a souvenir stand near the Eiffel Tower. He says the Roma situation is impossible.

"As a shopkeeper, I'm confronted by these girls all summer long. They're often pregnant; they ask for water and steal from me," he says. "But as a human being, I see these people are not able to integrate, and this is the only way they can survive."

Thebault says people are increasingly nervous because European governments seem to have no coherent plan for the Roma in Europe.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

A vigilante attack against a Roma teenager has shocked France. There's growing pressure on the French government to improve conditions for the ethnic minority. Human rights advocates says, the rise of a xenophobic climate in the country may have contributed to the attack. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley has more from Paris.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (French spoken).

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: French news reports say a 16-year-old Darius, who last name has not been released, was found bloodied and unconscious in the grocery store, by the side of the road. He was kidnapped and beaten by a dozen or so youths, who accused him of stealing. President Francois Holande condemned what he called an unspeakable and unjustifiable act. Aline Le Bail-Kremer, a spokesperson for human rights group SOS Racism, says the incident is not so surprising, considering the xenophobic climate in France today.

ALINE LE BAIL-KREMER: The fact is that the National Front, who is a xenophobic party, won an election in this country and won a lot of gains all over Europe and so on. It is the result of this context.

BEARDSLEY: She's talking about recent European parliamentary elections, where the far right came out on top in France. Even before those elections, French governments on the right and left have been criticized for their harsh dealings and deportation of Roma. The Roma, sometimes referred to as gypsies, migrated to Europe from India during the Middle Ages. The have always faced harsh discrimination, across the continent. They began coming in large numbers to Western Europe, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. Roma are part of the landscape in Paris, today. Under the Eiffel Tower, there are always gangs of young Roma girls hitting tourists up for money.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (French spoken).

BEARDSLEY: Excuse me, where are you from?

JZ: I am from Romania. And my name is JZ.

BEARDSLEY: JZ won't give her full name because she is frightened of the police. She and her friends surround me. They carry clipboards with petition papers on them or little cards with scribbled notes. What do you show people?

JZ: I'm hungry and want money.

BEARDSLEY: Our conversation has attracted a couple of police officers.

(SOUNDBITE OF CRYING)

BEARDSLEY: (French spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: (French spoken).

(SOUNDBITE OF SIREN)

BEARDSLEY: So the policeman came up and stopped our interview, took their little cards, where they're asking for money, and tore them up. So you are always harassed?

JZ: Yes, always, always. But I'm no stole, you know, I'm no stole.

BEARDSLEY: JZ says she doesn't steal. But Roma are often accused from stealing from tourists and Parisians across the city, especially in the subway. Laurent Thebault runs a souvenir stand, right near the Eiffel Tower. He says the Roma situation is impossible.

LAURENT THEBAULT: (Through translator) As a shopkeeper, I'm confronted by these girls all summer long. They're often pregnant. They ask for water and steal from me. But as a human being, I see these people aren't able to integrate and this is the only way they can survive.

BEARDSLEY: Thebault says people are increasingly nervous because European governments seem to have no coherent plan for the Roma in Europe. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.